GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES
Report from the ENA Conference Session
November 9, 1985
by Kate Wholey


The following panelists participated in the session on Global Perspectives:

* Izumi Aizu, Institute for Networking Design, Japan

* John Coll, England

* Ingemar Falkehag, Society for General Systems Research, Sweden

* Joichi Ito, Foundation for Global Education, USA

* Ron Klein, Planetary Congress, USA

* Terence Wright, independent consultant, England

* Dorothy Nicklus, United Nations Representative of the International Federation of Business and Professional Women

* Marshall Whithead, United Nations Project Director for the International Youth Year

Ed Yarrish, a founding member of the ENA, served as moderator.

The issues that were explored included access, cost, language and cultural barriers, and institutional/political fears raised by computer conferencing. This article summarizes some of the major points addressed by the panelists.


ACCESS
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The issue of access was readily dismissed--to the surprise, I believe, of many. Difficultie{s seem to be virtually nonexistent. Academic computer networks are proliferating, and they allow easy access to each other. Ingemar Falkehag, in fact, mentioned that groups from The Philippines and Thailand have gone through The USSR to access other "free world" systems. John Coll suggested that access problems are actually political; only three places won't let him into his London box (home system): Bahrain, The USSR, and a private exchange in England (of which he is a member).

And Marshall Whithead agreed: "What we've got to work on is assuring the politicians we're responsible. We need to build institutional frameworks for collaboration." The technical aspects of conferencing are embedded in political and institutional structures; many of the problems are due to the national and bureaucratic environments through which conferencing must progress.


COST
====

Cost, in contrast to access, was a major concern to all the panelists. First of all, to reach another country requires an ID on the international packet-switching network, not an insignificant investment. John and Joichi exchange ID's when they visit each other's countries; even so, their phone bills skyrocket. From Japan, packet-switching costs are two or three times higher than the Telenet rates--each packet sent or received incurs a charge. Joichi felt that one possible role the ENA might assume could be to lobby the governments for lower rates. NTT, the Japanese government corporation charged with the communications infrastructure, operates a packet-switching network at a minimum of 4800 baud--terrific for data transfers, but lousy for conferencing purposes.


LANGUAGE AND CULTURAL BARRIERS
==============================

Izumi Aizu shared with us an example of how languages interfere with understanding: Yesterday, he said, I got a message from a friend in Los Angeles. I'd been looking for a free market in Pasadena. I knew there had to be one. "Oh," he replied, "you mean a FLEA market!"

Even translating between English and "American"--though ostensibly the same language--can be difficult, Hiro Nakamura told us. And even bilingualism isn't enough: We need to develop bicultural skills, which requires face-to-face contact...a leap from the relative ease with which we're now able to communicate.

Marshall gave us a terrific example of how conferencing can actually aid cultural understanding. An EIES conference recently was opened for communications between six- to ten-year-olds from Hawaii and the Marshall Islands. By the time social mores might have taught them which culture was "good" (ours) and which was "bad" (theirs), they already had experienced a first-hand taste of the other's beliefs.


ROLE OF THE USA
===============

Throughout our discussion, many panelists voiced the fear that the arrogance of the United States impedes progress, due to a self-centered approach in sharing and teaching technology.

Joi, who recently had attended the Aspen Institute Conference on
Communications Technology, cautioned us that first things must indeed come first. In the midst of US "biggies" like Henry Kissinger and (AT&T executive) Charles Brown, the Ugandan ambassador implored attendees, "But first, I must teach my people to read."

Marshall agreed. Whenever possible, he and his crew try to work with representatives of the developing countries. Izumi chimed in readily: The goal-orientation of Americans is not shared world-wide. "Hey, you guys, this is fun! We needn't be in such a hurry to solve all the world's problems in a single day. Maybe a new UN (for United Networking) might succeed where the old UN failed?" We applauded his enthusiasm heartily, sharing his love for personal contacts such as those provided by this gathering.

Vernon Robinson, of George Washington University, suggested that we might perhaps begin closer to home, by bridging the gap between the District of Columbia and Anacostia (a DC suburb). "If you can pull THAT off, you might learn a few lessons applicable to the larger environment we're speaking of here."

Coming full circle, then, I think Ron Klein summed it up most succinctly: Social architecture needs more time to work than technology. We must be prepared to build paths, slowly and courageously, between cultures.


INSTITUTIONAL/POLITICAL FEARS
=============================

Concerning international institutional problems, Izumi shared a story he'd heard at dinner the night before. The CCITT (the international body that sets standards for telecommunications) had removed an employee from a position of responsibility for suggesting that they actually use telecommunications for their own work. (Current procedures require a document to circulate and be studied for a year before any decision is called for; the employee had hoped to expedite this process for the current deliberation on Standards of Protocol.) The employee, of course, was hesitant to share her plight with us, for fear of reprisals. Nevertheless, Izumi felt that such cowardice should be made public, and that we should realize the stupidity we're up against--even within our own industry--when we talk of eradicating barriers among the world's people.

Chrys Goyens of Canada posed this question: What might have been the repercussions if the Walker family (on trial for spying and distributing classified security materials to foreign nationals) had used conferencing? He said that he suspects that we're being watched by our governments, because we represent a threat to their sovereignty. Dana Blankenhorn agreed that we subvert their authority: We no longer need permission to cross national boundaries and communicate with foreign nationals.


ROLE OF THE ENA
===============

A chorus of suggestions for proving the worthiness of conferencing as a means of communications was heard. Harry Stevens suggested that we concentrate on some immediate, practical applications of conferencing, such as project management. And George Por suggested a Japanese-American collaboration--a book, created online--about how we can each benefit from cross-cultural contacts. He quoted an old Indian proverb: Don't fight the darkness--better to light a candle.

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Author's note: Many thanks to Dana Blankenhorn for his notes on
this session, which were very helpful in creating this report.